Be With You Always
by smartypants123
Summary: Annie, Catherine and Juliett attend Hogwarts, however their third year at isn't at all what they expected because this year it is hosting the next Triwizard Tournament filled with humor, friendship, romance and drama as they discover what is important.
1. The Hogwarts Express

**So I rated this T because of stuff I might put in it later. Also Fred is not the twin, he is George's son. The same goes for James. He is Harry's son. They are fourth years. Now that that's cleared up...enjoy!**

CHAPTER 1:

THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

Anne:

"Anna, you will be good won't you? Stay out of trouble!"

"I always do, mum." I said grinning mischievously. I was thirteen years old.

"Take care of Mary. Make sure she doesn't get lost."

"Will do, mum." I said patting my sister's shoulder. "We'll be thick as thieves this year!" Mary was protesting as my mother smothered her in kisses. She was a first year, and her hair was dirty blonde like our mum's. My hair is like my father's, reddish brownish. Or at least it would be if he were still alive… I pushed these thoughts out of my head and took my sister's hand. My mother started weeping. A tear came to my own eyes as I realized she'd be all alone now. My sister was away from as well now. I hugged my mum awkwardly and boarded the train.

"Miraculously, we managed to find an empty compartment. We sat down on the padded benches and waited. I already had on my robes and tie. I waved at my mother through the open window as the train picked up speed. I ran my hand through my spiky hair absently.

"Mary, you should go sit with kids your own age." I didn't want Mary to end up friendless, like me. I took her hand and led her out in the long hallway. I spotted short figures out of the corner of my eye. One was a girl that had red straight hair, and the other was a boy that had wavy auburn hair. Yep. First years. I opened the sliding door. "Excuse me; do you have room for one more?" The girl shyly looked at her feet.

"Sure. My name is Lilly, and this is my cousin, Hugo." She said. I nudged Mary and she sat down with them. Then I went back to my own compartment…alone. I sat and waited until, to my surprise, the door opened to reveal a girl my age.

"Sorry every where's full. Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked.

Whoa. Someone wanted to sit with me, the weirdo with short spiky hair with ink in it?

"Sure. Go right ahead."

Catherine:

I packed for my third year at Hogwarts. I packed my textbooks and my homework. I packed pleasure reading books and money. I packed my clothes and my robes. I was packed and ready.

"Now, Catherine, please remember our rules." My mother reminded me once again on the platform. "No talking to strangers. No leaving the group on your Hogsmeade visits and please don't blow anything up this year."

"I know, mum." I replied.

"Ugh…and for the love of all that is good and holy BE SAFE." She said, frantically trying to brush my hair out of my face.

"I will, mum." I answered quickly. "-and I promise to write every other week." I said trying to pry myself out of her death grip. "Fine! Every week! I gotta go, now!" She let go and smiled in satisfaction.

"I love you. Have fun." She said as she looked at me longingly. However, even though I would never admit it to her, I was ecstatic to be leaving home and going to Hogwarts. I was excited to begin my new adventure.

I boarded the train with a pocket full of galleons. I felt the hall give a jolt as the train started to gain speed so I quickly ran into the nearest compartment and looked out the window. I saw my mother waving, gooey eyed. I waved back and blew her a kiss.

I looked at the annoyed and irritated faces in the compartment. Obviously I was not wanted in there. So, I shuffled out of that compartment still holding my suitcase. I wandered aimlessly down the halls until I found an almost empty compartment towards the end. I opened the door and peered in. Inside sat a girl with short red hair and green eyes. "Sorry. Everywhere else is full. Do you have room?" I asked.

She looked shocked. "Sure go right ahead."

Maybe_,_ I thought. Maybe she and I will become friends_._ I always had friends at my old schools, before Hogwarts. For the past three years, however, no one really wanted to hang out with me. I put my suitcase on the shelf above us. I looked at the ink in the girl's hair. She must be a writer. "Do you write?" I decided to ask.

"What?"

"Do...you...write?" I said gesturing to her scrappy red hair.

"Oh!-Yeah I do. I love to write! Do you?"

"I only write in my free time sometimes, but, yeah, I suppose I like it."

"What house are you in?" She asked.

"Ravenclaw. You?" I answered.

"Same!" She answered. By then the train was chugging right along and we were on our way to a very exciting year.

Juliett: 

"Goodbye, mum!" I gave my mom one last kiss and boarded the train. I went through all of the compartments to find a seat, but most of them were either full of filled with scary looking seventh years. I poked my head through another door close to the end. It was only filled with two Ravenclaw girls. They were around my age by the looks of it, too. One had short reddish hair with ink (?) and scraps of paper in it. The other girl had long, brown, straight hair and piercing blue eyes.

When I looked in the girls stopped their conversation and looked at me. "Can I…uh…sit here?" I asked timidly. The brown haired girl looked at the other, who nodded.

"Of course you can."

They made room for me and I sat across from them. I extended my arm to introduce myself. "Juliett Barone, pureblood. I'm a third year in Hufflepuff."

The red haired girl shook my hand. "I'm Annie Austen and I'm a third year, Ravenclaw."

"Oh, and I'm Catherine Michaels." The other girl announced.

"It's very nice to meet both of you." I said leaning back in my seat.

Annie:

I looked, bemused, at the girl sitting across from me. She was awfully formal.

We all talked throughout the entire train ride. I was beginning to rather like both of these girls. I found them to be very engaging company. Juliett seemed to be very mature for her age and Catherine someone you could always strike up a conversation with.

"Strange." I said after an intriguing discussion of the variety in Bertie Bot's every -flavored Beans.

"What's strange?" Asked Catherine.

"I think this is the first time I've had a _real_ conversation with girls my own age." I tried to not make it sound sentimental, but it kind of did.

"Same here." Said Catherine, a bit shocked.

"Well, how ironic. It does seem that we've all been outcasts until now." Juliett stated. There was a general pause allowing everyone to think about what had been said. Afterwards, it was followed by an awkward silence. "Sooo…what do your parents do?" Juliett asked. She had to ask the wrong question.

"Well…my mom is a part of the ministry of magic organization called the Society for the Promotion of Magical Equality- S.P.M.E. - formally known as S.P.E.W. It used to be an organization to protect the rights of elves, but now it protects most creature rights like goblins, and the elimination of prejudices by blood. Also, right now they're working on squibs live in wizarding villages and stuff like that. They've had all these neat ideas about selling them magical items so they can…am I boring you to death?" I asked, stopping.

"No, no! Not at all!" said Catherine. "And what about your father? Does he work for the ministry of magic as well?"

I couldn't just lie to them_,_ I thought. No. I decided. I would just have to come clean and tell them the truth. "He's-er-not exactly around any-anymore; not since the year before the last. There was…an accident."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Said Juliett.

"Yeah, take your time." Said Catherine.

Catherine:

I felt bad for Annie. She seemed so nice. I really didn't mean to make her upset. I tried to change the subject. "So…ummm-er-" I stammered. I was completely drawing a blank and had no idea what to say. Usually I can't shut up! Now, I couldn't talk at all! What was going on with me? I was so mad at myself.

"Um…are you okay, Catherine?" Juliett asked curiously. I realized that my face was probably turning red. I tended to do that a lot.

"Um…internal conflict." Then I gave a nervous laugh.

Just around then, the trolley came by our compartment. It had juicy, mouthwatering, magical candies. It had Bertie Bot's Every-flavored Beans, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pastries, and some Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They also had licorice and lollipops of every color and flavor. I stuck my hand in my pocket, and felt the golden round galleons I had brought with me. This was a great time to go get a snack from the trolley.

As I was butting my way through the crowd of people, I saw Fred Weasley. He was a fourth year in Gryffindor, and very popular. Strike that. No, not popular…the most popular along with his partner in crime, James Potter, son of the very famous Harry Potter. Fred's father owned Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke shop in Hogsmeade, which automatically made him kind of cool. Aside from that, I was almost positive he received O's (Outstanding's) in all of his classes. I may have been an outcast, but I couldn't help myself from having a crush on him. He had reddish brownish auburn hair just like Annie, and was pale, almost as pale as me. He was funny, smart, and extremely cute.

As soon as I remembered not to stare, I realized that I had pushed my way to the front of the line. I had a panic attack. "Um three tom tongue toffee's and one bag of Bertie's every-flavored beans please." I said extremely quickly.

"Whatcha doin' with those?" Fred asked me surprisingly.

"Oh!" He had scared me so much I near wet my pants. I was not expecting him to talk to me. "Oh…um…well, I was going to bring them back to my compartment. You know, something to do to pass the time." I said trying to be smooth, although I'm sure that I didn't.

He kind of stood there not saying anything. "Would you like to join us?" I added unknowingly.

"Well, James was going to see if he could get this first year to lick a toilet, but yeah that sounds just a bit more appealing." Said Fred. I smiled extra widely and excitedly then showed him to our compartment. "Is this everyone?"

"Yeah." I said. "We aren't big crowd type people."

"That's cool." Said Fred. I sat down across from Annie and Juliett, like I had before, and Fred sat next to me. I passed out the toffees to everyone. We were all about ready to eat tem when we heard someone coming down our end of the hall.

"Dude! Where you been? I've been lookin' for you everywhere! He did it! He licked the toilet and-" James stopped and looked at us. "Who're your friends?"

"Allow me to introduce you. This is Juliett, Hufflepuff. This is Annie, Ravenclaw…and Catherine, also Ravenclaw. They're third years." Fred said gesturing to each of us.

"Well, can I join?" James asked a tad lonely.

"Why not?" I said, though I probably should have consulted everyone else first. We started passing out Bertie Bot's every-flavored beans, and dared eachother to try new flavors. Fred and I were dared to try the following: sardine, milk, strawberry, soap, and soup. Juliett and Annie were dared to try these following flavors: cat litter, sugar, pasta, orange, and vomit. When James tried his flavored beans, he said some words that made me laugh, but I would rather not repeat.

The train had stopped and we all grabbed our bags and got off onto the platform. As soon as we all were off, Juliett Annie and I left for the carriages. Once we got there we all boarded. Fred and James came running over to our carriage right before we left. "Can we ride with you?" asked James quite eagerly.

"Sure!" Juliett said excitedly. "You guys are hilarious!" I smiled at her. She looked at me and it was pretty clear that she knew that I wanted to ride with them.

I could see Hogwarts from our carriage. The lights were on inside the castle. There was a warm autumn breeze blowing in my face. Annie laughed and said I looked like a model with the wind blowing through my hair. We all laughed at that.


	2. Longbottom and the Common Rooms

**I just wanted to ask anyone that reads this to PLEASE review. It will help me make the story better and to correct any grammer mistakes I may make. Also, it'll really motivate me to update faster ;)**

CHAPTER 2:

LONGBOTTOM AND THE COMMON ROOMS

Juliett:

Wow, Catherine was _so _into Fred. So, anyway, on the platform, I heard a loud, booming voice directing all the first years towards a group of canoes with lanterns. I watched as all of the first years traveled in a mob, talking in short excited whispers.

I followed Annie and Catherine into a carriage. It was just about to start pulling away when, what do you know, Fred and James came sprinting up to the edge. "Can we sit with you?" They asked.

"Sure." I said. Catherine was going to have a field day with this one, I thought. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear. It also remained that way for most of the ride. The ride was not all that great considering the chilly breeze. At first it was nice, but by the end it had gotten ridiculously freezing.

We all got off at the gigantic Oak doors and said our brief goodbyes as we headed off to our own House tables. It was warmer inside, and the ceiling was magically enchanted so that it looked as though candles were floating in the air. I headed over to the Hufflepuff table where I sat down next Matthew, one of my best friends in Hufflepuff. He was folding origami, as usual.

Annie:

I swallowed and smiled weakly. "It's fine. You didn't know."

Catherine volunteered to get the candy we wanted from the trolley. She came back with not only candy, but Fred Weasley. When he sat down, I high-fived him. Catherine looked at me inquisitively.

"She helped me with a prank once." He said as if reading her mind.

I was usually had a more calm, quiet side to me, Angelina Austen, but I had a weak spot for a good joke. We talked to Fred for a long time, until James Potter entered the compartment, saying something about a toilet. Fred introduced us and we all sat around eating Bertie Bot's every flavored beans. Finally, we stopped and boarded the platform.

I always forget just how beautiful Hogwarts really is. It was late and the castle light sparkled, silhouetting its dark shape beautifully. I got into a carriage, Catherine and Juliett following. I looked out and saw Mary get into a boat with Lily and Hugo, but she must not have seen me waving.

I decided to see who was pulling the carriage today. I stepped out.

"Hey, little guy!"

"Who are you talking to?" asked Catherine.

"The thestral."

"Ohh…ok" she said, acting as if I hadn't been looking at a winged horse that is supposed to be invisible. How I wished it was invisible, I thought to myself. How I wish it was invisible.

Catherine:

Anne and I sat together at the Ravenclaw table. It was quiet because the first years were being placed. Afterwards, we sang the Hogwarts song and began our feast. There turkeys, hams, green beans, mashed potatoes, rice, tropical fruits, pasta and all sorts of tasty treats. There was almost everything and anything one could think of! We grabbed our goblets of pumpkin juice and went for the pudding. You couldn't resist the Hogwarts' feast. It was too darn delicious. It was an entire three course meal. I was stuffed. One by one people started leaving for their houses.

A door knocker in the shape of an eagle asked, "In the Pythagorean Theorem, what does the "C" represent?"

Annie yawned and answered. "The hypotenuse."

The door frame swung open leading to the Ravenclaw common room. Annie and I stepped inside, groggily. I was completely and utterly stuffed, and now I was tired. We waited by the fire, and talked. The fire let off a warm, comforting glow. I could feel myself getting sleepier. The fire, in the hearth, was crackling. My eyelids felt heavier and were closing. Annie must have noticed."Let's get to bed, now." She said as if to comfort me.

We trudged up the stairs, finding wrappers of magical candies, and the remains of firecrackers. It was funny though, because no matter how many wrappers and remains we found we never saw one mistreated textbook. I guess it was true that no matter how cool you were. If you were a Ravenclaw that book was like a Christian's Bible.

Annie seemed just as tired as I was. So, I wasn't surprised when she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. That left me alone. I thought about reading my book, but I wasn't ready to strain my eyes in the darkness. I sat upright in my bed, at the sound of voices coming from my window. I inched closer to hear them clearer.

"Should I?" One asked.

"Dude, you should totally ask her out!" The other boy said. By the sound of their voices, I could infer that they seemed to be around my age. One of them, though, the second one, was clearly James Potter.

The first boy spoke again. "But what if she doesn't like me back?"

"Look, Longbottom, I know a thing or two about girls. Trust me." James said proudly with a sense of swagger. They were on the lawn for sure, but it was too dark to see them. I edged closer and strained to hear. "Ask her tomorrow at breakfast, in the morning. That way you don't have to looking for her during classes." There was a pause, a sign that Longbottom might have been considering it.

"What if she isn't a morning person?" The first asked.

James gave a sigh. "Your loss, Longbottom." _Longbottom, _I've heard that name before, but I couldn't remember where. There was movement in the darkness. I think James was walking away.

"Wait!" The first boy called out. "How would I ask her?" He seemed genuinely worried.

"Why don't we talk about it, inside? It's cold and past curfew, and the rebel I may be, I don't really feel like getting caught on the first night. That-and Fred and I have a bet to see who's going to get detention first." James stated with, what I am sure to be a very serious face.

It was silent and I was sure that my eavesdropping had been terminated. It made me feel good yet guilty inside. The guilty side did not last too long though. Usually I tried to stay out of gossip because I found that it only led to bad things, but I just had this feeling. I had a feeling of adrenalin, the kind you get when you are told a secret and you know that you cannot tell anyone else. It's the feeling you get when you know something no one else knows about. You get butterflies. Most of the time you just want to let it all out, grab the first person you see and just tell them everything. This was different though. For some reason I did not want to spread what I had heard. The poor kid already seemed extremely nervous.

One thing was clear though. This Longbottom kid was probably going to ask someone out at breakfast. I would have to keep my ears open for any news. With that, I let my mind drift off into unconsciousness.

Juliett:

After dinner I headed to the Hufflepuff common room. The route had been etched in my memory. I kind of felt jealous that Annie and Catherine got to be in the same house, but all the same, I had Matthew. I talked to him on my up to the common room. Matthew Chang had been of my best friends since my first year at Hogwarts. He was always nice, but he was sometimes shy. I was one of his best friends too, I think. He was the one who taught me how to do origami. It was one of his many hobbies and gifts.

After the huge feast, I was so full and tired. As soon as I got to the common room, I didn't even want to look around I just wanted to go to sleep, and that's just what I did.

Annie:

When the carriages stopped at Hogwarts, Fred and James had to go 'do something important'. They headed off towards the castle, taking from their bag what looked t be water balloons and bubotuber puss. I was genuinely frightened.

We walked through the huge oak doors and into the Great Hall. I felt as if I had been on a very long trip and had finally returned home. I caught Mary's eye and waved. She waved back nervously. "Austen, Marietta," called out Professor Flitwick in a squeaky tone. Mary! Mary shuffled up to the stool and put on the hat. It covered nearly her entire face. She was the smallest of the first years.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Mary took the hat off with trembling hands and walked over to the cheering sea of red and gold. I stood up and clapped. After the sorting came the best part though. FOOD! That's when the face-stuffing would begin.

I learned short, little bits and pieces of information about the people around me during the time period of chewing and getting more food. They were things like Catherine knew a girl here once, but then she moved and had to transfer to Beaubaton's School of Magic for girls. A sixth year boy named Dominique was the quidditch captain for Ravenclaw.

"Hey, Catherine?" I asked.

"Mm?"She said with her mouth full of food.

"Who's that boy over there? The one with the brownish blondish hair?"

"Oh. I think a's Mark 'ongbottom. E's a 'ird 'ear." She swallowed. "Why?"

"Wait. What?"

"I think that's Mark Longbottom. He's a third year. Why?"

"It feels like he's staring at me. Every time I look up he stares down at his shoes. It's so odd." I said.

"I think I know what you mean." Catherine said glancing at the Gryffindor table a few times. "Is Fred looking at me?" Fred turned back to James and began telling a joke.

"Nope." I said.

"Whew…okay." She said.

"Well Juliett seems to have a new friend." I said, changing the subject."What's his name again? The Japanese kid?"

"Matthew, I think. Yeah. His name is Matthew Chang." I was really impressed with Catherine's ability to be so good with all of these names and stories, and facts. She certainly was one of the more gossipy Ravenclaws.

Our conversation was interrupted by Professor McGonagall's speech. "I would like to give a warm, Hogwarts' welcome to the new members of staff: Professor Ernie MacMillan who will be teaching Potions. Professor Zacharias Smith who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts-" A pompous looking man bowed and a man with an upturned nose and snobbish expression just nodded his head. I immediately disliked Smith."-and a welcome back to a Professor Longbottom, who has returned from his whomping willow injuries."

Longbottom? Was he the father of Mark Longbottom? Proffessor Longbottom smiled and nodded at the applause. I'd always liked him as a Herbology teacher.

"Now off to bed! Pip, pip!"

We followed Dominique Weasley to the Ravenclaw common room, and once we were in we sat under the star spangled ceiling. I sat and talked with Catherine, and could hear the faint sound of firecrackers going off nearby. I suspect one of the Weasleys. Finally everyone made it back up to their dormitories.

That night I had a dream. I was sitting in the Great Hall with Catherine. It was raining; not that usual around this time of year.

"Uh…Angelina?" said a voice. My dream-self spun around. It was Mark.


	3. A Rainy Day

CHAPTER 3

A Rainy Day

Annie:

The next morning was rainy. I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. Catherine soon joined me and we walked down to the Great Hall together. Something in the back of my mind told me that something weird was going on. Like déjà vu or something. I sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table and Juliett sat at the end of the Hufflepuff table so we could talk.

"Hi." She said brightly. "Annie, Catherine…this is Matthew."

"Hi, Matthew." We shook hands and there was silence for a minute.

"Uh, Angelina?" I spun around to see Mark standing there. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Wait a slippery second! I recalled my dream the night before. I began to feel dizzy.

"Hey, Annie. You all right?" asked Juliett. I didn't say anything. I finally made some semi-normal friends and I was not about to lose them by telling them I had predicted the future.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I turned my attention to Mark. "Um, hiya. You can call me Annie, or Anna if you want."

"Okay. Hi, Anna. I'm Mark…Mark Longbottom."

"Hello, Mark. Would you like to sit with us?" asked Catherine.

"-but aren't we s'posed to sit at our own house tables?"

"Oh, they don't mind," said James who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He seemed to be trying to be communicating something with Mark. There were a few meaningful glances exchanged.

"Okay…sure. I'll sit down. Thank you." He sat next me, and all of us talked for awhile. Eventually Mark became more and more comfortable with us, laughing at Fred's jokes and sometimes telling his own puns, his hazel eyes lighting up as he tried not to laugh. I found that I really like being with these people. Mark, at least for now, would be a very good friend. And that's all I needed.

Catherine:

It was raining when I woke up. Something was bothering me. The conversation that I had overheard the night before rang in my ears. Who was the girl Longbottom was going to ask? It was six in the morning, and the only one awake besides me was Annie. I walked over to her as she was putting her books into her bag for the day.

"Hey." I said groggily.

"Hello." She said brightly. "At least someone woke up." I let out a half-hearted laugh, and returned to my bedside so I could get dressed and ready for the day. I slipped on my uniform and brushed my hair. I put one shoe on and quickly snaked my arm under my bed until I found the other.

"Hey. You ready yet?" Annie asked a tad impatient but still politely.

"Almost," I said scooping up my books and running over to her. "Now I am."

"Cool beans." She said. "Let's go." We linked arms and sang very loudly and off-pitch, follow the yellow brick road all the way down to the Great Hall. We did this despite the annoyed comments of awakened portraits.

Juliett Barone sat at the end of the Hufflepuff table. And we scampered on over to meet her. Soon after we started talking, a boy with brown hair and hazel eyes appeared. I could tell he was a Gryffindor because of his red and gold tie.

"Uh…hi, Angelina." He said nervously. I immediately recognized the voice and smirked. So it was Annie that Mark seemed to have a crush on. Good for her.

When it was time for are morning classes I leapt up from the table and made my way over to the moving staircases. I bobbed and weaved through masses of students traveling to their classrooms. Finally most of the hall was clear and I could breathe again. It had only been a few seconds when Fred Weasley shouted "Watch out!" But I wasn't quick enough and BAM! I fell to the floor, dazed. Fred fell on top of me and … well; he wasn't exactly a scrawny kid. He quickly got up though.

"Holy shit!" he shouted. "I'm so sorry, Catherine! I was only trying to get to Defense Against The Dark Arts…and, I uh…" he stammered a few times, but all that really registered was my name.

"Let's get you to the infirmary. James!" he yelled. And sure enough James came running down the hall towards us.

"What happened?" He asked in a nervous tone.

"I-well I…it's a long story." Said Fred, sounding kind of scared. Then he did something that surprised me beyond my wits. He scooped me up as if I weighed no more than a paper weight, and started walking down the hall with James quickly following. I know it was a stupid way to get knocked out when you're a wizard, but it's not liked I planned this.

"Uhhhhh…head hurts." I managed to throw out.

"Its gunna be okay." Whispered Fred surprisingly close to my ear. We had reached the infirmary and Fred placed me down on a cot. There weren't any nurses around which sort of freaked me out.

"Shit…okay. Where does it hurt?" Fred asked.

"The back of me head and- OW!" Fred had touched my arm, feeling for broken bones. A sharp piercing pain shot through it.

"Sorry, but it's definitely a broken bone."

"Can you fix it?"

"Yeah but you've gotta stay really still." He said. Then my vision went fuzzy from the pain. I couldn't really hear what he was saying either. Soon the pain went away and my vision clicked into focus again. I looked down at my arm and for all I knew it was as good as new. I still had a headache, but I decided that I could live with that.

We sprinted down the halls knowing that we were already super late for class. Suddenly we stopped to take a breath. Fred doubled over, gasping for air. "Are…you sure…you'll be okay?" He asked in between breaths. I giggled a little.

"_I'm_ fine. Are you sure _you're_ going to be okay?" I asked.

"Oh me? Psshh. Please…I'll be fine."

"Thank you for-erm-carrying me to the infirmary." I added quietly. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and he blushed a little.

"All in a day's work madam." He humorously bowed. I curtsied and then I jogged off to class. That's how it ended…just like that. I smiled.

Juliett:

I woke up and looked outside. Rain. I smiled to myself. I love rain.

I dragged myself and slapped on my uniform. I pulled my white blouse over my head and dug through my suitcase for my stockings. When I was dressed I slid on my purple flats and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I sighed looking at my appearance. I saw a short girl with wavy blonde hair and plain brown eyes. How ordinary.

My footsteps echoed down the hall as I scurried to breakfast. Annie, Catherine, Matthew, Mark, Fred, James and I sat together for breakfast. The bunch of us had a good laugh.

My schedule was quite pleasing. My first class was Charms. As I walked into the room, I was surprised at how full it was. I looked desperately for a seat. There only two empty seats I could find. One of the two was next to a group of very catty looking girls, the other, next to Matthew. It should be pretty clear that I chose the latter.

"Hey, Matthew." I said occupying the seat next to him.

"Oh hey, Juliett!" I grinned at his warm welcome.

Just as I sat down class began. A short body introduced herself as Professor Chanel. Since it was the first day back, she spent almost all of class telling the expectations and rules of her class. She was just explaining what were going to be doing that year when I turned to Matthew, who had been folding a piece of parchment.

"Whatcha making?" I asked curiously.

"A bird." He said making the last fold, delicately. He slid the paper bird over to me.

I smiled, "Thanks."

Annie:

After breakfast, Professors Winter (Ravenclaw), Longbottom (Gryffindor), Sprout (Hufflepuff), and Nott (Slytherin) passed out schedules.

"And what subjects will you be taking, Miss Austen?" asked Professor Winter.

"Uhhhh… Divination and Care of Magical Creatures." I said. Winter handed me a schedule and moved onto Catherine. I turned to Mark, whose father was talking to him. He had picked the same subjects as me. I looked at my schedule. I had Transfiguration then Care of Magical Creatures.

I walked towards the Transfiguration classroom by myself wondering where Catherine was. Finally I took my seat just as class was about to begin. Winter started talking about expectations and the year ahead of us when Catherine snuck into the classroom and plopped herself in the seat next to mine. Either professor Winter either was to involved in her lecture and didn't notice Catherine come in or just saw that she was a Ravenclaw and decided to look the other way.

Our first assignment was to turn a porcupine into a pincushion. By our seventh attempt we both mastered the spell with time to spare. So we talked.

"So you, uhh…kinda like Fred?" I asked. Was this too personal?

"Well, yeah…I s'pose I do." She said. "And what about you?"

"I dunno, seems a bit early for me, I think. I don't need a boyfriend. I just need friends." I said carefully.

"Time for your next class!" Professor Winter said briskly. We packed our bags and headed off to our very first Care of Magical Creatures class.

**Sorry this section is soo short, and it took me so long to put up. I have had so many other things going on. Anyway in the next chapter, things might just heat up between Fred and Catherine. Also Hogwarts has a surprise for the students.**


	4. Fred, Divination and the Notice Board

CHAPTER 4

FRED, DIVINATION AND THE NOTICE BOARD

Catherine:

I left for Transfiguration. I met Annie in the classroom. "Where've you been?"

"I…um fell." I replied quietly.

"Oh." Annie said contentedly. Professor Winter introduced herself to the class, but obviously the Ravenclaws already knew her. She was the head of the Ravenclaw house. We were going to start the year by turning a porcupine into a pincushion.

Annie and giggled the whole time. Let me just say that on our first attempt, the porcupine lost more than a few quills. However on our ninth try we finally had made a successful pincushion. We even had some extra time to spare at the end.

"So…you kinda like Fred, huh?" Annie asked innocently. This took me by surprise but I thought about it for a minute.

"Yeah." I paused. "I s'pose I do. What about you though, Annie?" After that it was idle conversation until Professor Winter announced that we could leave. I smiled and jogged outside for care and keeping of magical creatures for the first time. The air warm but had a steady flow of cool breezes. Annie, again, told me that I looked like a supermodel with my hair blowing in the breeze. My hair was a light brown, and went down to about the middle of my chest. I had side swept bangs that draped across my forehead.

Today's class was fairly boring. All they would talk about was the safety of handling magical creatures. So with that I was free to let my mind wander off to the fields across the black lake, to the forest and back to the castle again. Soon enough it was time for my favorite subject. Lunch. All though I would never show anyone besides maybe Annie and Juliett, I was truly a pig when it came to food.

We were in the Great Hall for lunch when I caught Fred's eye and he winked at me. I smiled back at him. Geez. I hope that I wasn't blushing that hard. Certain memories fluttered back to me. It had only been a few hours or so since I saw him last but it seemed like so much longer. I though about our sweet goodbye then about my confession to Annie.

As I inhaled my chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese, I listened and watched as Juliett showed us an origami bird. Soon enough it was time, though, to leave for our first ever divination class. We galloped up the winding staircases ignoring the rude remarks of certain annoyed paintings.

In front of me, was a mass of students gathered around something the looked like a ladder to an ancient attic. Among the swarm of people, adorned in red and gold was Fred. He was in a far corner chatting with James (what a surprise). There was some talk from Fred and several nods from James. Fred cracked his knuckles and said something that looked like _wish me luck._ A few seconds later a felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey, Catherine." Said Fred. "So…" he said ever so smoothly. "I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"Oh. Um…Are you asking me out?" As soon as I heard myself say it, all I wanted to do was a face palm. Smooth, Catherine.

He ran his hand through his hair half nervously. "Well. Actually yes…" I suddenly felt Annie and Juliett's presence, smirking.

"Yeah…I'd love to!" I said enthusiastically. I leaned up to hug him and he squeezed me tight. "Well, that's a relief!" He whispered into my ear.

We headed up into the smoky attic. The air had an odd sickly sweet scent. The air was warm and intense. I made my eyes water like crazy. Was this the divination room?

Juliett:

I had all of my classes with Matthew and about half with Annie and Catherine. This year wasn't so bad. I had met many new people that first day. Well, they were new to me at least. Anyway one of the "new" girls' names was Camelle. We had a few things in common such as she enjoyed running also. Some people say it's not a sport, but if you've tried it you would know that it's no picnic.

Talking to Camelle about running made me realize that I left my running shoes at home, so I wrote a letter to my parents asking them to send them. A couple days later a package arrived with my shoes and as soon as I got the chance, I put them on and ran.

Running around Hogwarts' grounds was invigorating. Running past the forbidden forest and the river was breath taking. When I got back I was covered in sweat. Matthew caught up with me almost as soon as I stepped back into the school.

"What happened?" he asked, looking me up and down.

"I was running." I said, still panting.

He smiled. "Let's go get some breakfast."

When we made it to the Great Hall there were eggs, toast, orange juice and pancakes galore! Yum! Matthew and I plopped down next to Camelle.

Annie:

Entering the divination room was a daunting prospect, but I gathered up my courage and climbed the ladder. I looked back and started to wait for Catherine, but I saw that she was talking to Fred and I had a guess on why. I saw the way she looked at him. You could tell. There was no questioning that they would be together. I wished I could have something like that, that feeling of total love and affection. I don't think I am jealous of Catherine necessarily, but still…there's that feeling. My head was such a jumbled mess, I couldn't even think straight. I could see every single feeling inside me at the same time, but I couldn't look at them separately.

"Good Afternoon, class."

I jumped at the voice. I saw, upon looking around, that I was in a heavily perfumed room. How did I get here? I must have so far in thought that I absently took my seat. Damn ADD.

It made me feel funny in the divination room. I cannot explain it, it is just so…overpowering. Everything-the scent, the fire, the décor- it all made me feel somewhat sick. I sat in one of the puffy purple armchairs.

Catherine joined me shortly hand-in-hand with Fred. Let me rephrase. She skipped over with Fred. Yes indeed. Her giddiness had proved my original prediction. Fred had asked her out.

Catherine:

Divination was interesting. The room was thick with perfume, and maybe it was just me and my girly fashion interests, but that room was in serious need of an interior decorator. It was filled with beanbag and armchairs scattered about with multiple side tables. Each table was wooden and held a crystal ball in the middle. We talked about star formations and the constellations. We discussed the possession of sight and how to properly use the crystal balls.

Other than Divination and care and keeping of magical creatures, there was nothing new that happened for the rest of the week. It had rushed by so quickly. It was Saturday morning, actually, and about 5:30 in the morning. I decided to write a letter to my parents who were, in fact, both muggles. My mum always worries that I am going to get hurt in the magical world but my dad knows that I'll be okay. Anyway, for her sanity, I try to write her every other week. The letter read:

Dear mum and dad,

I miss you both so much. I met a new friend this year her name is Annie Austen, and she is soo sweet and nice. I also met a Hefflepuff. Her name is Juliett Barone. She is the funniest! Oh…and I met a boy. He is REALLY cute and asked me on a date for this weekend. Mum, at this point I would like you to check on dad. Make sure he's not hyperventilating. I promise to tell you how it went next week.

Love you always,

Catherine 3

With that I folded up my piece of parchment and tied it up with string. Before I left my dorm I changed out of my pajamas and into my skinny jeans and purple sweater.

I made my way all the way out to the owlery. It was still really early and I figured most people would still be sleeping at this time. I guess I was wrong. I saw Mark Longbottom, Fred, and James all talking on the opposite end of the room. I quietly made my way to my barn owl, Charlotte. I told her to take it to mum and dad when I heard Fred calling me over to his group, which he's never done before.

"Catherine, do you think that if Longbottom asked Annie to Hogsmeade she'd say yes?" he asked tired and bluntly.

"Of course she would!" I squealed.

"On the chance that she says no though…we wouldn't be able to be friends anymore." Mark said defensively and quietly. There was a pause in which everyone considered this when I spoke again.

"You know what Mark…you ask her when _you _feel the time is right." I looked him in the eye. "Oh, and don't listen to these yahoo's. They don't know the first thing about girls." I said jerking my thumb towards Fred and James.

"Thanks, Catherine." Said Mark appreciatively. Then he left and started for the door.

"Two things. One, you can't blame me for trying to set him up with an amazing girl, and two I do too know about girls. I mean, I'm going out with you aren't I?" Fred said smugly. I glared at him then elbowed him in the ribs.

"C'mon. Let's take a walk." I said and we left for fields. He held my hand sweetly and rubbed it with his thumb. We weren't really walking anywhere in particular, just around the grounds.

"So you think that just because you carried me to the infirmary, I'll forever think of you as my knight in shining armor? Think I'll swoon in your arms?"

He stopped walking and turned to me. Then he did something unexpected. He picked me up and held me like a baby. I wriggled around.

"Put me down!" I giggled.

"If I'm not your knight in shining armor than who am I?" He asked. "I will settle for nothing less." He put me down gently, but kept his arms wrapped around me. I stood up a little higher so I could reach his face and kissed him on the cheek.

"You know I'll get you for that." He said smiling.

"Oh yeah?" I said. Then he bent down and kissed me full on. It was intense and wonderful. He held me close with his arms wrapped around my waist so tight. I ruffled my hand through hair and kept his head close to mine. I hoped it would never end, but he pulled away oh too soon.

"You're beautiful, Catherine." Now I was sure that I was blushing. Then who else would be able to interrupt such an important moment.

"Dude! You've gotta see what they put up-"

"James what is it?" Fred asked impatiently.

"Come look." He said expecting us to follow. Inside the school doors was a mob of at least a hundred students crowded around the notice board. There was a large crisp piece of parchment pinned up that read:

Hogwarts Students:

We are very pleased to inform you that this year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, we will be hosting the first Triwizard Tournament that has been held in the past thirty two years! There have been, however, a few modifications such as: all ages are permitted to enter, there will be three champions from each school, and finally all entries must be submitted before the night of October 31st.

Thank you.


End file.
